I thought Graham Bosher, 27, was nuts when he told me about his latest
venture. Graze.com claims to be the country’s first mail order fresh fruit
(and dried nuts) vendor.

But try a £2.99 box or two of dried strawberries and cream, grapefruit, cherry oranges and the inevitable goji berry salad (tastes like it’s very good for you) and it all starts to make sense.

Picture Bosher at his desk in the light industrial park offices of his first business, the mail-order film rental service Lovefilm.com. Chomping on a cereal bar after a run he wondered why he was having to put up with such rubbish food. He wondered how many others were frustrated about a decent choice of lunch. He glanced down at the mail order boxes used by Lovefilm. And that was his eureka moment. “Healthy food by post,” as he puts it.

Bosher and six colleagues spent several months researching the idea before raising £1.3m last summer from a series of private investors, including William Reeve, a fellow Lovefilm founder, and Robin and Saul Klein of the Accelerator Group.

The money help to fund a website, clever packaging (enabling the firm to offer sliced pineapple fresher than available in supermarkets), production facilities in Feltham, south-west London and a trial that saw 10,000 people sign up to receive the boxes without any significant marketing. The feedback has helped the firm to focus its ranges on 150 favourite fresh and dried fruit and nut combinations.

Bosher is planning to launch a larger lunch box. The aim is to hit 40,000 boxes a week by the end of the year and he is in the middle of raising around £2m in second round venture capital. Bosher is confident his team is on to something. Given the success of Lovefilm, I wouldn’t bet against him.